Fatal Flaws
by Graci-and-Cheri
Summary: Why can't Lily Evans get James off her mind? What happens when at Hogwarts Lily finally realizes one thing, one fatal flaw. She's falling for James...  First Part of Graci&Cheri's "Fatal Flaws" series RE-VAMPING IN THE PROCESS
1. Chapter 1

**_ We are Re-vamping this story. We agreed that 1) there were to many things that wouldn't have really happened 2) we needed to do it with no POV and 3) it was moving WAY too fast_**

**_So, this is the NEW Fatal Flaws, the one that will stay around and never leave! Still a L/J story, don't be confused by Remus/Lily at the beginning, James and Lily's relationship was never easy you know!_**

**_Love us or Hate us,_**

**_Graci-and-Cheri_**

Chapter One:

Petunia. That one word meant so much to Lily, she listened to everything that Petunia would say, and do it. Even now, about to start her sixth year at Hogwarts.

Like makeup! Before Hogwarts, Lily never wore makeup, but then, Petunia told her that if she didn't wear it, constantly, everyone would hate her and she would have no friends. And little Lily believed every word. So, from that moment on she never left her house of dormitory without a mask of concealer on. Her friends never knew why, but it masked her beauty, and made her look so unlike her true self.

Today, right after Lily put on her makeup, she put her hair into its usual bun. Another thing Petunia had convinced her to do, this with her elbow-length auburn hair. Then slipping into some jeans and a sweatshirt, she then proceeded to the kitchen to eat a piece of toast with strawberry jam. Just as she sat comfortably in her seat by the window, the doorbell rang.

"Oh! That's probably Vernon!" Petunia said jumping up from her place by the bar. Lily sighed, she had recently been informed that Petunia had started dating this whale of a man, Vernon Dursley. He was perfect for Petunia, no-nonsense, brags about everything, and hates Lily. Even though he didn't know she was a witch, he though she went to St. Martha's School for Very Troubled Women, an obvious lie. Because obviously, she didn't. She went to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!

Lily sighed as Petunia said something to whoever was at the door, it couldn't have been Vernon or else she would have invited him in. _Providing he could even get through the door! _she thought dryly.

She was still lost in her thoughts of Petunia and Vernon's relationship when Petunia shrieked her name.

"LILY! ONE OF YOUR LOT IS HERE TO SEE YOU, FREAK!" Petunia shrieked as she stalked into the kitchen dragging a confused Lily to the door.

Once Lily managed to pry Petunia's bony fingers off her elbow, she finally was able to see who on Earth was at the door.

Dressed entirely in muggle attire, Remus Lupin stood nervously at her doorstep. Still recognizable, she thought he looked quite dashing in his muggle jeans and worn t-shirt. His dirty blond hair had grown a few inches since she had last seen him, and though he was still pale, he had obviously spent more time in the sun. See, ever since last year (fifth year), Lily had a little crush, that was now a BIG crush, on Remus. He was always so sweet and responsible, the most mature Marauder.

So, there she stood, looking (in her opinion) horrible, right in front of Remus.

"Oh! Er...hullo Remus..." Lily stammered nervously, fingering her old sweatshirt, mentally cursing herself for not wearing something better.

"Hullo Lily!" Remus responded cheerfully, then continued, "James sent me here-"

"James! As in Potter...oh, Merlin help me!" She interrupted him, scanning the neighborhood streets in fear. Once she realized he wasn't there she relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.

"Er...no he's not here...he asked me to come and give you your birthday present from him, and I brought mine too." As soon as the words left his lips Lily remembered that it was her birthday. Her Birthday! July 27th! _Of course, that's why today felt different! _She thought.

"Well, thanks very much Remus, and tell Potter thanks too...I guess." Lily added the last part more reluctantly and took he two boxes from him. "Would you like to come in?"

"Oh, sure, can't stay to long though because Mrs Potter's waiting for me to come back..." Remus said as he stepped in. As he did Petunia, who had been spying on them the whole time, walked over, glaring at both of them.

"Why Lily, Vernon will be arriving soon, make sure your..."friend"...is gone by then, I don't want Vernon seeing the likes of him in this house! Oh, and change out of that outfit before he comes, or stay in your room the whole time!" She spat at Lily, who flinched and murmured a "OK..." back to her older sister. Remus stared in shock as the sweet yet tough Lily Evans he knew was pushed around by her older sister, who obviously had an effect on her.

"Well, I'd better be going now. Don't want to mess up your sister's date with...Vermin? Oh! Sorry, Vernon!" Remus added after looking at Petunia's annoyed face. And with that, Remus Lupin walked out the door, picked up his broom (that was successfully hidden in a bush) and flew off into the clouds.

Lily sighed as she watched him fly away, then she walked up stairs to her bedroom, and waited until Vernon left to leave her room.

In three days, just three days, she would get to go to Diagon Alley! She had owled her two friends, Alice and Marlene, and they were meeting her there. Lily flopped back on her bed and fell asleep, dreaming of going back to Hogwarts for her sixth year.

{~*~*~*~}

Finally August first came, and Lily was at Diagon Alley, with Marlene and Alice, once again.

They were walking in Mademe Malkin's Robes for All Occasions, when Alice suddenly stopped.

"I'm dating Frank Longbottom!" she squealed, and her two friends joined too. But, they were so caught up in being happy, they failed to notice four others enter the shop.

"Lily!" James hugged her as the Marauders entered the shop. Lily wriggled from his grasp only to be caught be Sirius, who did an over exaggerated replay of James reaction. In her second struggle to get out she bumped into the toned chest of Remus Lupin. He smiled and hugged her also, then proceeded to get fitted. Madame Malkin's called her over (during the greeting her friends had started their fitting) and tried on her new uniform skirts, which were considerably shorter than last year.

"Oi! Alice, Marlene! Is it just me, or is this skirt way to short?" She asked them as they came out of their fitting rooms, also in th same short skirts.

"Yea, its so weird, you'd think they'd only get longer..." Alice replied, trying to see if she could pull her skirt a little lower.

As Alice did this Lily glanced back at the mirror, she was a tall girl, with her long hair pulled in its usual knot at the top of her head. In her seemingly shrunken uniform you could clearly see she had quite the curves, not that her other uniforms before hadn't shown them. She was just trying to button the top few buttons of her blouse (that were showing her bra) when James and Sirius walked over, dressed in their new uniforms. Sirius wolf whistled and nudged James, who turned scarlet, yet couldn't take his eyes off her.

"Oi, Jamesy, I've had some pretty good shags with girls with that size." He wiggled his eyes toward her large bosom. "Mind if I borrow your girl for a bit." He winked at a seething James and wrapped his arms around Lily's waist.

"Ugh! Black, get your hands off of me! You dog!" This was apparently funny to both the boys, as they burst into hysterics at the comment. When they got over her comment they found she had escaped to the dressing room, where they couldn't reach her.

Quietly as they could, they waited right outside the dressing room. Sure enough, ten minutes later, Lily, dressed in her Petunia approved, curve hiding, muggle clothes came out. Ignoring the boys standing by her door, she went to pay for her clothes.

Noticing her knot of hair, James realized he didn't actually know how long her hair was, and decided to find out. Walking up behind her he removed her hairtie in one swift movement.

Lily's elbow length, auburn hair tumbled down, like a waterfall. He was so caught up in the perfect way that her hair fell, that he failed to notice the furious look on her face. Grabbing her bag and snatching her hairtie back, she stormed from the store, Alice and Marlene following her with their purchases, giving James a look of fury.

Before following them, he thought, _Why didn't she ever wear her hair down?_


	2. Chapter 2

**Ok, for anyone who didn't understand the last part of the last chapter, the shrunk uniforms were a prank from the Marauders.**

**Now an extra special thanks to those people who reviewed: DaughterofPoseidon, BrookPotter (nice avatar Brook!), RoksGal251, and, our very own Beta, ILoveHarryPotterForever!**

**Also, for those who didn't know, Arabella Figg's Cats were part Kneazle, and Kneazles can understand human speech. Just letting you know, it will help in this chapter, and later ones. And don't forget which cat was spying on Harry in Ootp, he will be mentioned in this chapter!**

**And sorry about the long time no update, we got an apple computer in our room and we had to get all our stuff on it.**

**Also, we have a Beta! Please welcome ILoveHarryPotterForever, our new Beta reader!**

**~Graci-and-Cheri**

Fatal Flaws

Chapter Two

The Marauders followed Lily, Alice, and Marlene to Carlen's Exotic Cat Necessities, and according to the 'Last Chance to get your Exotic Cats' signs, they were going out of business.

As the girls (still not aware they were being followed by four boys) went into the cat filled store, where a frazzled looking lady with short gray hair was selling a striped part Kneazle kitten to a 52-year-old Arabella Figg ("Can I get him a collar that says, Mr. Tibbles?"), Lily spotted a small box that held three kittens in them. The sign above the box read "Kneazle and Cat crossbreeds, guarantied to live up to 50 years!"

Lily picked up the first kitten, it was smaller than the other two, it was soft and had bright green eyes, much like her own, and unlike the other two kittens, which had yellow and amber eyes. Its short fur was reddish brown, and it seemed shy and timid, much like Lily.

Lily tried to put the cat back in the box, but she couldn't stand to put it in there, with that fat, gray, yellow-eyed one, that reminded her of Petunia. So, she made up her mind, and bought the Kneazle kitten.

When she went over to show Alice she bumped into a muscular wall of Remus Lupin. Blushing furiously, and apologizing, she picked up one of the books that had fallen out of his bag and handed it to him.

"Nice kitten," He said, when her new kitten nuzzled his hand, "What's its name?"

Feeling utterly stupid for not naming her new kitten, she sat there like a goldfish, gaping at Remus.

"Umm…well, I just got her, and…um…I haven't named her yet." Lily looked down embarrassingly at her kitten and Remus picked it up and handed it to her.

"It reminds me of an autumn leaf," He stated,

"Why, that's a perfect name! Why, thanks Remus!" She exclaimed happily, using it as an excuse to hug him.

"Well, I better go, my friends are waiting," He told her, and she realized that Sirius, Peter, and James (the latter glaring at Remus) had watched the whole thing.

Blushing furiously, Lily picked up her bag, and Autumn, said a quick goodbye to Remus, and left.

As she quickly left the pet store, she once again ran into someone. This time, it was Alice, who immediately cooed over Autumn.

"Aw, she's so cute! And that name is just adorable! How did you come up with it?" She asked Lily. Lily blushed, thinking about Remus, and filled Alice in with what had happened.

"You two are just so sweet together! I think he likes you, but he obviously knows he'll have to face the wrath of James Potter if he so much as touches you!"

As much as Lily hated to admit it, it was true, James had a bad habit (what he called "convenient accidents") of hexing, attacking, or causing any guy who she went out with (total of two) or talked to, and even tutored! The thought of poor Remus losing his friends being there for him, especially on full moons, (she had discovered this when she found that Remus was a werewolf, and then realized they all disappeared, they were forced to tell her) was absolutely horrifying.

"Oh, your right Alice, poor Remus, he already has his, um, Mother who's ill, and that would be tragic to lose his friends trust too!" Lily exclaimed, for Alice didn't know that Remus was a werewolf.

"Well, come on then! Let's go talk with Marlene about this!" Alice grinned mischievously and dragged a reluctant Lily to where Marlene was waiting for them, still at the pet shop. Marlene agreed with her friends about Remus, and then, noticing Lily's discomfort of them freely discussing the situation when people could hear them, suggested they go to Diagon Alley's new ice cream shop, Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor

Sitting between Alice and Marlene, licking her Peach Phoenix ice cream, Lily heard a familiar, once friendly voice.

"You better run, stupid Mudblood!" The slimy voice of Severus Snape rang out across the alley, as a young muggle born ran from him and his group of Death Eater wannabe's. Lily noticed that some of the group were of age, and had their wands out. With a jolt she realized they must have hexed the muggle born. Leaving her friends (and ice cream) Lily ran over to where the girl sat, crying alone while Severus and his friends continued to verbally taunt her.

"Hey look! It's a big puddle of mud, eh, Zabini?" Mulciber nudged his friend and pointed to the pretty redhead. Severus immediately froze, she had her back turned and was intently talking to the muggle born they had been taunting. Before he could stop them, Zabini and Mulciber both shot his own personal hex, Sectumsemtra, at his true love. Quick as a flash, James leaped over, pushed Lily out of they oncoming spell and then he turned to face the Wannabe Death Eaters.

"Do you know what you almost did?" he asked, glaring Mulciber down.

"Yeah, we almost got rid of that filth!" Mulciber answered, his cronies jeering.

"If you hurt her, _ever_, in anyway, I will make sure that my father, Minister of Magic, will put you in Azkaban!" And with that, the Wannabe (and a few real) Death Eaters stalked off. James turned to Lily and helped her up.

"Are you alright?" he asked her, her hair falling out of its knot.

"Y-Yes," She said shakily, fringe falling in her face. "Thank you."

James looked at Lily, and looked right in her eyes. He saw a little girl who was scared and needed someone. James wrapped his arms around Lily and buried his nose in her long red hair. She smelled like flowers - lilies, to be specific. She was a good head shorter than him, so her head came to his chest. It was like all the dreams he had where he saved Lily and she admitted her love for him. He was of in his own world of Lily, when something brought him back to earth; his shirt was soaked, and Lily was shaking. James realized with a surprise that she was crying. Lily Evans, the unbreakable, the perfect Prefect, was crying.

James was about to say something comforting when Alice, Marlene, and the Marauders found them.

"Lily!" Alice and Marlene screamed, taking her away from James and, even thought there were only two of them they somehow made a human wall around her. Realizing that the "moment" he had was over; he turned to his friends, a smile on his face. Sirius looked at his friends face and laughed.

"Prongs, what happened? You just ran off!" Sirius shook his friend by his shoulders.

"I hugged Lily," James smiled dreamily. Sirius burst out laughing and ended up rolling on the ground.

"Erm, good job?" Remus said, patting James on the back, and Peter came up and shook his hand.

James felt a light tapping on his shoulder and turned around to see Lily, with her friends behind her, looking a little pink in the face from crying, and her hair was still down.

"Hi Lily!" He said, smiling very widely.

She looked quite bashfully at him, then said, "Thanks James, for saving my life… but you didn't really have to threaten them with your dad and all; I'm not worth it," And with that, Lily, Alice, and Marlene walked past him, each saying hello to Remus and then going into Quality Quidditch Supplies store - for Marlene's sake.

Marlene darted around the Quidditch shop, ooing at the new Nimbus 1007s and looking at the improved color changing Quaffle's. While she was staring at the practice snitches - which you throw or enchant at others so they can catch them - the Marauders walked in.

Sirius, being the sneaky man he is, snuck up behind Marlene as she was going through a basket of the practice snitches, looking for a purple one. He tickled her sides and she threw the basket in the air out of shock. Lily, being beside her, used her abnormally fast reflexes to catch every single one of the little colorful balls and place them back in the basket. Everyone gaped at her, especially the newly named Captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, James Potter.

"What? Did you want me to let them fly around?" She asked, wondering what was so shocking.

"Sirius, I think I just found Gryffindor's new seeker." James said in awe.

**8**8**8**8**8**

* * *

**Cheri: Ok, we know this was short, but... WE HAVE STARTED THE NEXT CHAPTER! :D so, that means... you get an update soon! :D**

**Graci: Yup! all thanks to our wonderful Beta, thanks Claire! :D oh, please, do review, we want to know what you think :)**


End file.
